on the main sequence is then determined by the change in the nuclear species (principally hydrogen being consumed and helium being produced). The rates of the various nuclear reactions are estimated from particle physics experiments at high energies, which are extrapolated back to the lower energies of stellar interiors (the Sun burns hydrogen rather slowly). Historically, errors in the nuclear reaction rates have been one of the biggest sources of error in stellar modelling. Computers are employed to calculate the varying abundances (usually by mass fraction) of the nuclear species. A particular species will have a rate of production and a rate of destruction, so both are needed to calculate its abundance over time, at varying conditions of temperature and density. Since there are many nuclear species, a computerised reaction network is needed to keep track of how all the abundances vary together. According to the Vogt–Russell theorem, the mass and the composition structure throughout a star uniquely determine its radius, luminosity, and internal structure, as well as its subsequent evolution (though this "theorem" was only intended to apply to the slow, stable phases of stellar evolution and certainly does not apply to the transitions between stages and rapid evolutionary stages). The information about the varying abundances of nuclear species over time, along with the equations of state, is sufficient for a numerical solution by taking sufficiently small time increments and using iteration to find the unique internal structure of the star at each stage. Purpose of the standard solar model The SSM serves two purposes: it provides estimates for the helium abundance and mixing length parameter by forcing the stellar model to have the correct luminosity and radius at the Sun's age, it provides a way to evaluate more complex models with additional physics, such as rotation, magnetic fields and diffusion or improvements to the treatment of convection, such as modelling turbulence, and convective overshooting. Like the Standard Model of particle physics and the standard cosmology model the SSM changes over time in response to relevant new theoretical or experimental physics discoveries. Energy transport in the Sun As described in the Sun article, the Sun has a radiative core and a convective outer envelope. In the core, the luminosity due to nuclear reactions is transmitted to outer layers principally by radiation. However, in the outer layers the temperature gradient is so great that radiation cannot transport enough energy. As